Michael Yoder on Showing Up, Storytelling, and Choosing Optimism
Mindset · From Student of the Game
Michael Yoder on Showing Up, Storytelling, and Choosing Optimism
Brad Noll has four coaches, and one of them is Michael Yoder, the producer who helps bring Student of the Game to life. For this episode, Brad turns the tables and puts Michael on the guest side of the microphone. Michael admits it takes real effort not to start interviewing Brad back.
Their connection goes back further than the podcast. Michael's dad and Brad's dad were business partners at Brad's grandfather's real estate business in Berne, Indiana, and the two families spent time together at auctions when the boys were young. Years later, their paths crossed again, and Brad says the partnership just made sense.
From Ministry to Jumping Off a Cliff
Michael started his career in youth ministry after earning a degree in ministry at Bethel University. He later returned to Bethel and co-hosted a podcast with a colleague there for four or five years, before podcasting was really a thing. People started asking him how to do it and whether he could teach them.
So he quit his full-time job, master's degree in ministry in hand, and started a podcast company. He describes entrepreneurship as jumping off a cliff and figuring out how to fly on the way down. On his first day, he went to a coffee shop and taught himself to build a website. Seven years later, his work still comes down to the same thing that drew him to ministry: people, and helping them share their stories.
Brad admits Michael was in his corner for about a year before he finally committed to the podcast. He kept telling himself he had too much on his plate. His advice now: if something is on your heart, stop putting it off. The story that you will get to it later is a lie.
“Every single person has a story and it needs to be shared. That's to be human is to have a story.”
Michael Yoder
The Fundamental of Showing Up
When Brad asks about fundamentals, Michael points to an interview with actor Seth Rogen, who said the one common thread among the successful people he knows is that they keep showing up. Michael breaks it into three areas:
- Business: responding fast, not letting things slide, and being there for his team and clients. He says this one comes naturally.
- Family: with his first child, showing up means playing with his son, putting the phone away, and being present at home.
- Friends: harder with age and a busy family, so it starts with simply showing up when invited.
Brad shares a practice from author Bob Beaudine's book The Power of Who: friendship Fridays, when a company sets aside time to check in on friends. He also talks about choosing a word of the year with his wife. One year the word was present. He still remembers a former boss who closed his laptop and put his phone down whenever someone walked into his office. Michael agrees that being fully present is what separates good from great, and it is what he wants his team to give every client.
Consistency and Storytelling
Early on, Brad asked Michael how the podcast could fail. The answer was a lack of consistency, which is really another word for showing up. The second fundamental is storytelling. Michael calls it the most effective way to communicate, noting that Jesus taught in parables. A story invites people into a new experience and lets them see a situation in a new light.
Brad says almost every guest he has invited has told him they do not know what they would talk about. Michael pushes back. His company's early motto was that everyone has a story. "Every single person has a story and it needs to be shared," he says. Brad adds some tough love: if you do not feel like you have a story, go build one.
Behind the scenes, Michael says producing a podcast starts with the host believing their story has value and learning to listen actively. Then his team handles production, clips, and publishing, while building systems so content is ready weeks ahead. A late-night title change can take hours to update everywhere, so the goal is removing the hurdles that stop consistency. He is quick to credit his team, and he says the best results come when the producer cares about the show as much as the host does.
Just Do It
For anyone thinking about putting content out there, Michael's advice is to rip the bandage off. There has never been a better time to create content and be found online. It will not be great at first, and that is okay. Brad reveals that his first recorded episode, with guest Abby Grubbs, was re-recorded because he was not happy with how he did.
Brad connects it to how he coaches his team. Not reaching out to clients feels like protecting them, but he calls it the most selfish thing you can do, because the real reason is how you think you will be perceived. His life mission is to help others win, and Michael confirms that Brad lives it, introducing him to people again and again.
Where Does AI Fit?
Michael uses ChatGPT every day to draft emails, rephrase text, and work with content that already exists, and he believes businesses not using AI tools are falling behind. He tells his team that AI will not replace good people. It enhances the work of people who are already good at what they do.
Brad shares a story about his cousin, a doctor, who once looked up a question in front of a family to lighten the mood, then explained that his years of experience make the results mean something different to him. For Brad, that is the point. Fundamentals never change, while strategies and tactics do, and AI is a tactic.
What Does Winning at the Game of Life Look Like?
For Michael, winning starts with gratitude and the superpower of not letting small things upset you, like being cut off in traffic or getting the wrong coffee order. He wants to look at everyone as if they are doing the best they can. He is reading The Art of Possibility, which describes professors giving every student an A at the start of class, and he wants to give everyone an A in every interaction. Winning also means that the people he loves know they are loved.
Brad shares that Michael once pushed him to define what winning would mean for the podcast. His answers were to introduce his kids to great people on the record, to become a better communicator and active listener, and to build a platform for his businesses. It was never about downloads. Michael sends his flowers to his parents, who encouraged him to try anything he wanted. His parting advice on storytelling: go be the person your younger self needed.
▶ Listen to the full episode
Embracing Life and the Power of Optimism with Michael Yoder, on Student of the Game.
Meet this episode's guest
Connect with Michael Yoder
Founder and CEO, Truth Work Media
Michael founded Truth Work Media in 2014. His South Bend team produces podcasts for businesses across the country, including both Noll Team Real Estate shows, Moving Fort Wayne and Student of the Game. If you have been thinking about a podcast for your business, Michael is the person to talk to.
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